Plant Power: Eagle Bay’s Summer Garden

Photo: Eagle Bay

Manufacturing quality pavers is hard work. Our plant runs 24/7 to make sure we keep up with demand and produce quality pavers.

A few years ago, Mark Waldron, Eagle Bay Lab Manager, got the idea to test the capabilities of our pavers by building a few planter gardens near the entrance of the plant. “We wanted to push the envelope of what we could do with the product. It also simply made the front of the building prettier,” says Mark.

Photo: Eagle Bay

Over the years, what started as an experiment turned into a tradition. Now, the crew in our manufacturing facilities maintains the gardens year-round. For a lot of our crew, maintaining the garden is a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the plant. “Currently, we’re growing bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, yellow squash, and onions. In the fall, we’ll plant flowers,” Mark explains.

The teams at the plant take turns maintaining the garden, watering it, and harvesting the veggies. “We’ll do potluck taco lunches in the plant when the garden is really taking off. In the beginning and end of the season when it’s not producing as much, we all split the veggies up and take them home. Our families love it,” says Mark.

Photo: Eagle Bay Pavers

The planters were made by surrounding plastic tubs with pavers and filling them with soil. “They’ve held up incredibly well considering the inconsistent weather we get sometimes and how often we water them,” says Mark. “We haven’t really had to do any maintenance to the planters; we just replant the gardens every season.”

The team in the plant is like a family, with most of the crew working the same shifts with the same people every day. “The garden has brought everyone together even more. The crew will pick out what produce they want to take home weeks in advance. It’s awesome to see guys add some fresh veggies to their lunches or just grab a cherry tomato while they’re working,” Mark says.

At Eagle Bay, we’re proud to have a workplace culture that supports efforts like this, and we can’t wait to see what comes out of the garden next season!

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Box Lunch Programs

Eagle Bay is pleased to provide educational programs in the comfort of your own office during your lunch hour. Through our popular box lunch programs, architects and engineers can learn about the different retaining commercial wall products and services that we offer. To schedule a lunch, please select the box(es) for the programs of interest and submit the form below.